Laurence myers



L. MYERS.

Improvement in Striking-Clocks,

Eatented Sep.10,1872x MIM- I Znva 71159; W

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAURENCE MYERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVAJIA, ASSIGNOR TO U. TIERSMYERS, OF SAME PLACE.

lMPROVEMENT lN STRiKiNG-CLOCKS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAURENCE Mrnns, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Clocks, which I call an An gelus Clock; andIdohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use my invention, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, which represents in longitudinal elevation theworks of a clock provided with my improvement.

My invention consists in so constructing a clock that it shall strikethe Angelus automatically; and I accomplish this object by means of themechanism now to be described.

A in the drawing represents the frame of a clock, in which are mountedthe usual motor, train of wheels, and pendulum escapement, whereby thehands are caused to revolve. These wheels are shown on the right-handside of the frame, (the pinions being indicated by dotted lines,) andoperate in the usual manner. On the left-hand side of the frame areshown the motor and train of wheels which actuate the hammer to strikethe Angelus upon a bell, not seen in the drawing. The motor is hererepresented as a spring, but in clocks of large size I prefer a weight.It is connected with the usual winding-ratchet B, against which bearsthe spring-pawl O, pivoted to the first wheel 1). This wheel gears intopinion E shown in dotted lines on the shaft of the second wheel F, whichgears into pinion G on the shaft of the third wheel H, and this lastwheel gears into pin ion I on the shaft of the fly J. To the rockshaft Kare attached three detents, L, M, and N, which prevent the train frommoving, the detent L taking into a slot between two teeth of the wheelD, the detent M into a slot in wheel P, which wheel is shown in dottedlines on the shaft of wheel H and pinion G, and the detent N engagingwith a pin, h, on said wheel H. To this rock-shaft K is also attached anarm, Q, which rests against the bent arm R attached to rock-shaft S. Onthe periphery of the first wheel of the righthand train, which revolvesonce in every twentyfour hours, are fixed three pins, to, b, and c, thepins a, and 0 being one hundred and eighty degrees apart, and the pin bequidistant from them. On the periphery of the first wheel D of theleft-hand train are fixed eighteen pins, arranged as shown in thedrawing, to wit, in four separate groups, the first three groupsconsisting each of three pins, and the fourth group of nine pins, andthe several groups being equidistant from each other. The intervalbetween the first and fourth groups, however, need not be the same asbetween the others. The rock-shaft T of the hammer has an arm, U,rigidly attached to it, and is connected with a spring, V, or equivalentdevice, so that the hammer will be raised by lifting the arm U andretracted by the spring to strike the bell in the usual manner. The pins0, b, and c are so arranged that a little before the hours of six a. m.,twelve m., and six p. m., one of them shall bear against the hooked endof the arm R; and as the wheel to which they are fastened continues torevolve the pin shall press this bent arm against the arm Q, therebyturning the rockshaft K and lifting the detents so as to liberate thestriking train exactly at the hour. The train, being thus liberated,begins to revolve, and, as the pins on the wheel D successively lift andrelease the arm U, the hammer is caused to strike the Angelus withprecision. Before the wheel D has completed one revolution the pin a, b,or c, as the case may be, has passed beyond the end of arm, B, so that,when the Angelus has been duly sounded and the revolution of D iscomplete, the detents engage with their respective slots and arrest thestriking train till again re- 'leased at the proper time. The mechanismfor striking the Angelus may also be combined with the ordinarymechanism for striking the hours or fractional parts thereof. Thedetails of such combinations will readily suggest themselves to anyclock-maker, and need not be described.

This improvement is applicable not only to large clocks in towers,belfries, 850., from which it is important that the Angelus should besounded with regularity, and which are sometimes situated in localitieswhere it is difficult to command the labor requisite for that purpose,but also to smaller clocks for use in families.

I do not limit my claim to the precise arrangement of mechanism shown,as its details may evidently be varied in many ways-for example, two ormore bells arranged so as to be rung might be substituted for the singlebell struck in the manner described, and similar variations will readilysuggest themselves.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

A clock, provided with the mechanism for sounding the Angelusautomatically, substantially as shown and described.

. LAURENCE MYERS.

Witnesses:

THOMAS A. BURTT, J. J. BUCHEY.

